Saturday 22 March 2008

Mínus @ Leadmill, Sheffield 21st March 2008


Last night I headed out to see Icelandic rockers Mínus (pronounced Mee-noose, or so they told me) playing at the Leadmill in Sheffield. It wasn't a well advertised show, as it was purely by chance that I was talking to a friend about the band, and checked out their Myspace profile and saw they were playing here the following week.

I've been a fan of the band since Halldór Laxness came out in 2004. I've seen them a couple of times before (supporting Amen at the Garage in Glasgow, and headlinging the G2 in Glasgow), and scared the living daylights out of their old guitarist, Frosti, when asking if he was feeling better (I'd heard on the radio he wasn't well, and was just showing concern). The band line up has changed since then (two of the members I spoke to have both left... Ooops), and I hadn't listened to their latest release, The Great Northern Whalekill, because though I knew it was due out (after being released in Iceland last year), it just wasn't advertised!

It was a poor turn out, with a very small queue outside, but we just put it down to it being early when we arrived. We knew
Mínus weren't going to draw a huge crowd anyway, they hadn't the last time we saw them either, but I was pretty sure things would get busier later on.

So the first band came out, I have no idea who they were. A local band, who didn't introduce themselves properly, but that was no big deal, they weren't memorable anyway. The guys could play, it was just a shame all their material sounded the same (and it wasn't even that interesting to start with), and that the vocalist didn't know what the microphone was there for, as he darted past it whilst singing in what sounded like a very put on gruff voice.

The second band on, however, really caught my attention. They were another local band, Mybe. Now, they won't be a band that will appeal to a lot of our readers here at Metaholic, they were a happy-go-lucky sounding punk rock band. The Yorkshire/Derbyshire equivalent to Bowling For Soup perhaps (but without the fat dude) or maybe a little more serious (but still funny) Presidents Of The USA, with catchy songs and a load of good humour thrown in. They looked like they were having a lot of fun, mocking themselves in parts (especially when something went wrong with the bassists equipment with few people noticing, their vocalist piping up, "I told you we didn't need you!").

They have been going for a few years, and they did bring quite a large number of people in with them, as the crowd swelled when they were due on. But there was reason behind this, they were pretty damn good, and certainly a band I will be keeping an eye on in future!

As Mybe left the stage, so did the majority of the audience. I have to say, this really did upset me, as they had yet to see the headline act! The numbers got smaller and smaller as Mínus started to prepare the stage for their set. Why go to a show and not stay for the main act?!

I assume Mínus felt equally as deflated by the dwindelling crowds when they finally took to the stage. As I say, I haven't heard the new album yet (and never managed to get into their first album, Jesus Christ Bobby), and I didn't recognise the first few tracks, but it wasn't long until they plowed into their older material. But this wasn't the Mínus I recall seeing back in Glasgow. Perhaps they saw the crowd before they came on and thought they were gaining in popularity in the UK, perhaps it was because those who were left just didn't show much enthusiasm as they asked how Sheffield were. But they lacked the sparkle they had on the Halldór Laxness tour.

Not only was the sparkle gone, but their vocalist, Krummi, seemed to be messing around with vocal effects pedals to an extent where he was missing lines of the songs out. On one of their singles from the last album, Angel In Disguise, they seemed to cut the song in half.

The band lacked enthusiasm, as did the majority of the 20 or so people left in the hall. There was almost no interaction between the band and crowd, and as time approached for the end of the set, the guitarist, in a little girly hissy fit, bounded off the stage, closely followed by the bassist and drummer, leaving Krummi on stage faffing around with the effects pedals. He then took off, leaving a whole load of noise and feedback pouring through the speakers.

I can fully understand the frustration of the band, but with a lack of advertising of the new album and the tour, you can't be surprised by it. And the strop they threw at the end was not only pathetic, but it alienated the already uncomfortable feeling fans, even more.

I was a fairly big fan of
Mínus before this show, but I'm feeling a little bit let down by their antics, I don't know if I'll bother to get along to their next tour.

Mybe's Myspace: www.myspace.com/mybe
Mínus's Myspace: www.myspace.com/minus

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